CHRISTMAS FOOD

Salad with feta cheese, green apples and tomatoes.  Just a dash of fruity vinegar is enough as the cheese is good at seasoning the greens

Cheese board - cumbebert cheese, truffle cheese and feta cheese to go with walnuts and dried mulberries

MAUH CHEE

Ningxia is a night market with many delicious food stalls

A busy street lined with vendors on both sides

As we were walking we passed this dessert stall which sells peanut soup with huge tang yuan, which turned out to be muah chee.  The stall was crowded with people waiting their turn to eat or take away as there were limited tables and chairs.  We waited for half an hour before we found a table to squeeze 6 of us in.  We ordered muah chee coated with peanuts and sesame powder filled with black sesame sauce, and muah chee in shaved ice covered in both powders. 

The ice muah chee were hugh, fresh and chewy.  We could not stop eating.  We would like to order some more but due to the crowd we gave up.

There were stalls selling muah chee with fillings which were not our cup of tea.  Moreover the sizes were huge.

While we were walking back to our hotel we came across this muah chee cart.  A small packet of 4 costs S$1.20 and big packet of 7 costs S$2.00.  Of course we ordered big packs for all of us.  We were overjoyed and ate to our satisfaction. 

TAIPEI

We spent 10 days in Taiwan during last week of December by travelling through Taipei, Taichung, Sifen, Jufen and Hualian.  We arrived at 6.30 am on the morning of 23rd December at Taoyuan International Airport.  As our first stop is at Taipei city center which is 30km away from the airport we had to take a bus from the airport to the rail station to get on the High Speed Rail (HSR) to Taipei Main Station.

The Station is a huge facility which is situated on Zhongxiao West Road opposite the 53 storey Shinkong Mitsukoshi Building (新 光 三 越）10 minutes from our accommodation, Miyi Hotel.  The hotel is located at the shopping district and is accessible to lots of food option, convenience shops and fast food.  

As the check-in time is at 3pm we had plenty of time to shop around before checking in.  We cared off our luggages at the concierge and went to fill our tummies.

米 糕 - Glutinous rice with cabbage pickles and mushrooms.  Carbohydrates to fill our hungry tummies

The glass noodles were springy and tasty

This soup we had to try as is our favourite pig blood soup and can no longer be found in Singapore.  They are generous with red "tofu", as they called it and was delicious with firm bite.  Hot hot soup with lots of spring onions to warm our cold bodies


As we walked down the streets after round 1 we were faced with more eating places and snacks and we went for further rounds.

永 和豆 浆  -  Popular soy milk king, Yonghe Soy.  Queue to order for eating in or take away

Savory soy with onions, eggs and fritters  -  eating porridge

Huge and crisy fritter.  Half is really enough for one

Scallion pancakes, the skin is relatively thick and slightly chewy

Loacai Shui Jian Bao.  Varieties of meat and vegetable buns.  Tried every flavour and every bun was juicy and full of fillings.  

Chilli sauce was super hot but went well with the buns.  Vow to return but never had a chance.

BISCOTTI

I gave out biscotti as gifts for X'mas and everyone loves it.   It is easy to make and can keep longer.  I adopted the recipe from Donna Hay's magazine Dec/Jan 2012 issue (bought in Sydney by my 2nd daughter).

Mix 300g plain flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder and 165g sugar to combine.  Add in 3 eggs (lightly beaten), 1 tbsp vanilla extract, 100g orange peel, 130 dried cranberries and 140g pistachios.

Use both hands mix ingredients evenly and shape into 2 balls. 

Shape each dough into a long log.  Flatten slightly and place on a baking sheet line with non-stick mat.  Bake for 30 mins in 160C oven till firm.

Set aside to cool completely.  Use a very sharp knife to cut the logs in neat slices.  Make sure the dough is completely cool before cutting or it will break into pieces.

Bake slices for further 8-10 mins or until golden brown and crisp.

Allow to cool on trays.

Full of bite and citrus fragrance.